The arrival of honorable guest

Sydney, - In the splendid Malek Fahd Islamic School hall, marked the historical launching of Baitulmal under the care of The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC).  BAITULMAL . The formation of BAITULMAL was the brainchild of ’s President, YAB Pehin Sri Dr. Hj. Abdul Taib Mahmud. In his keynote address, YAB Pehin Sri said the idea of Baitulmal was muted more than 10 years ago.  Pehin reiterated the need to operationalize the concept of Baitulmal and let it start modestly and grow with the growing awareness and population of the in the continent.

During RISEAP in Auckland, 28th November 2009, Pehin Sri stressed the need of the Muslims to galvanize their moral and financial obligation to the ummah through the formation of “BAITULMAL” The initiative was unanimously adopted by the General Assembly and officially sealed as RISEAP’s resolution. Henceforth, RISEAP and AFIC prepared the groundwork in conjunction with . Technical briefing was made in Sydney and Auckland to translate the philosophy of Baitulmal into a practical and workable assignment. In June 2011, the General Manager and Deputy Manager of , (Hj Abang Mohamad Sibli and Mr. Bolhassan Taibi) flew all the way to Sydney and Auckland and explained the nitty-gritty of Baitulmal to AFIC’s and FIANZ’s members. While Baitulmal was a divine obligation, different ethnics and groups differ in their modus operandi. It was understandable since the Muslims of Australia came from different countries and background. They were from , Pakistan, Sri Lanka, , Afghanistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt etc. Nonetheless, the differences was cemented by the spiritual desire of one common need i.e. the overall welfare and future generation of the umah.

The president of AFIC, Br. Ikebal Patel was instrumental in organizing the groundwork of . In his opening speech he addressed the difficulties and challenges that AFIC has gone through till the day while thanking all the organizations and individuals that had contributed to the success. Representative from embassies and the Prime Minister Representative Mr. Tony Burke bear witness to this honorable event. Undoubtedly, this event that was attended by a myriad of influential people is a sign of support that the project would do well in the future.

The launch also saw financial contributions from well-wishers to jumpstart the national fund.

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